Compliance in the area of taking payments and payment processing is a patchwork of state and federal rules, regulations, and laws, coupled with legal precedents and requirements from clients that can make even the most experienced executive run for the hills.
And even when a collection agency has designed a comprehensive set of policies and procedures, making sure that those rules are being followed is an entirely different ballgame, said a panel of lawyers and agency executives last week, who spoke during a webinar on payment processing compliance. The webinar was sponsored by PDCflow.
A copy of the webinar recording is available here.
The webinar speakers were Krystal Collins from AMCOL Systems, Michael Etmund from Moss & Barnett, and Scott E. Wortman from Blank Rome.
The primary issue with payment compliance, Wortman said, is not usually anything to do with the policies and procedures.
“Most policies and procedures are usually very well written,” Wortman said. “It comes down to training. You have to make it as easy as possible to follow the instructions.”
Companies should have comprehensive policies when it comes to shredding and destroying documents with personal information, and should never write down or copy debit or credit card numbers or bank account information, Wortman said. Etmund added that companies should maintain a list of which employees are allowed or required to have access to certain pieces of information and then stick to that policy. Doing so “reduces the chances of a problem,” Etmund said.
At AMCOL Systems, Collins said that each employee receives hands-on training regarding payment processing compliance policies and procedures.
“You have to be open with taking questions,” Collins said. “You have to walk them through all the steps.”
